Filtering gate for the protection of a site, with linear parallel motion of the leaves of the doors

ABSTRACT

A filtering gate for the protection of a site includes two boxes arranged side by side and forming two corridors allowing communication between an inside of the site and an exterior of the site. A first and a second pair of leaves are located at an inside front and an external front, respectively, of the boxes arranged side by side, the leaves of each pair being movable parallel with respect to each other and transverse to a flow passing in the corridors, each leaf being movable independent of the other leaf of the pair, between a first position in which it blocks passage through one of the corridors and a second position in which it blocks passage through the other of the corridors. In a normal operating mode, the movement of one leaf of each pair is immediately followed by the movement of the other leaf of the same pair, as soon as the first leaf of the pair has completed moving between the positions, the movement of each leaf of one of the two pairs of leaves occurring simultaneously with the movement of a corresponding leaf of the other pair of leaves.

This application is the national phase of international applicationPCT/IT97/00185 filed Jul. 23, 1997 which designatede the U.S.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention refers to a filtering gate, designed to protectthe access to a site whenever it is desired that the access controllingdevice does not degrade the transit rate and does not hamper the freecirculation of physical disabled persons.

A number of filtering access devices are known, utilised to better savethe environmental conditions of air conditioning inside the premises andto realise the electronic checking of the persons who pass through theaccess, by means of metal detectors.

Double door systems, central pivot revolving door systems for the accessto public premises and the so-called "burglar-proof tambours", equippedwith metal detectors, for the access to protected premises, typicallybanks, or to classified premises, are the most used among such devices.

In some of such devices, systems are provided that include separatecorridors for a user who enters and for a user who goes out, in whichcorridors a box is located, closed by two vertically hinged doors, whichusually cannot be opened both at the same time.

For example, in the case of banks, the entry box could be provided withmetal detectors, suitable to prevent persons, who carry a weapon, fromentering the protected site, so that anyone could enter the site onlywith the consent of such detectors.

More particularly, in such types of safety door systems, verticalcylindrical boxes are provided, in which the access members are in theform of glass walls, having the shape of sectors of a cylinder which, inthe phases of opening and closing, are caused to slide along the fixedlateral cylindrical walls of the respective box, these walls being madefrom safety glass and having the shape of sectors of a cylinder as well.

BACKGROUND ART

In Italian patent N. 1,195,079, a system of boxes has been described,equipped with safety doors, suitable to allow the entry and the exit ofone or more persons at the same time, particularly of a physicaldisabled person in a wheelchair as well. This system can be used inbanks, postal agencies, supermarkets or other premises, which must beprotected against robberies or the like, or simply from the atmosphericagents.

The central pivot revolving doors are often used in hotels, in theairports and, generally, in all the public premises, where problems ofacoustic isolation or the like, exist. The central pivot revolving doorsmust be manually pushed: they force the user to walk in "short steps",in synchrony with their rotational movement. At last, they do not allowthe passage of shopping carts, wheelchairs and bulky objects at all.

Therefore, an attempt, done with the purpose of, so to say, linearizingthe rotational path of the central pivot revolving doors, consists ofthe device, already known, by means of which the leaves of a revolvingdoor are made to travel a rectilinear path included between two 180°rotations, so as to allow physical disabled persons to pass through.

Nevertheless, these kinds of access for disabled, not walking personsshow many drawbacks. First of all, they usually show not rectilinearpaths of the leaves, thereby involving complex mechanisms, and thereforeexpensive and onerous to service. This remark is also valid in the caseof the device of the Italian patent N. 1,195,079, in which the leavesperform some rectilinear movements at right angles among them, so as tosimulate a 360° rotation every four 90° movements.

Therefore, not only the cost, as already stated, but also the poorreliability and the operational slowness are direct consequence of thecomplexity of the movements and of the mechanisms which carry out them.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide afiltering gate with two reversible corridors for the entry or exit, inwhich the leaves of the doors move back and forth in one only directionwith a linear motion, without interference between the paths made by theindividual leaves.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a filtering gateof the above-cited type, having no architectural barriers, which areobstacles for physical disabled persons.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a filtering gateof simple and inexpensive construction, suitable for mass production.

According to the present invention, a filtering gate for the protectionof a site, comprises in combination:

two boxes, having a generically rectangular base, arranged side by sideand forming two corridors, placed side by side, which allow thecommunication between the inside front of said boxes, facing the insideof the site, and the external front of said boxes, facing the outside ofthe site;

a first pair of leaves, located at said inside front of said boxesarranged side by side, said leaves being mobile parallel the one withrespect to the other and crosswise with respect to the flow passing insaid corridors, each leaf being mobile in a way mechanically independentfrom the other leaf of the pair, between a first position in which itblocks the passage in one of said corridors and a second position inwhich it blocks the passage in the other of said corridors; and

a second pair of leaves, located at said external front of said boxesarranged side by side, said leaves being mobile parallel the one withrespect to the other and crosswise with respect to the flow passing insaid corridors, each leaf being mobile in a way mechanically independentfrom the other leaf of the pair, between a first position in which itblocks the passage in one of said corridors and a second position inwhich it blocks the passage in the other of said corridors,

the arrangement being such that, in the normal operational conditions,the movement of a leaf of each pair is immediately followed by themovement of the other leaf of the same pair, as soon as the first leafof the pair has completed its run, the movement of each leaf of one ofthe two pairs of leaves tacking place at the same time of the movementof the corresponding leaf of the other pair of leaves.

The main advantage achieved with a filtering gate according to thepresent invention is that such a movement of its four leaves allows anotable increase of the transit flows through the passage, up to atleast three hundred entry transits and three hundred exit transits everyhour.

A further advantage of the present filtering gate is that it allows thetransit, in conditions of total automatism, even of physical disabledpersons.

According to an another aspect of the present invention, the fourleaves, in a situation of manually piloted emergency, could be moved tolie all at a single side of the gate, obstructing one only of thecorridors and leaving the other corridor entirely free, for example fora fast evacuation of the site during a situation of emergency.

Instead, in a situation of intrinsic emergency, for example in case ofelectric mains breakdown or device failure, the four leaves are moved toa predetermined position, from which they can be opened withoutoperative effort, possibly with suitable keys, in the direction of theoutside, by pushing them.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The present invention will be further clarified hereinbelow and otheradvantages will be highlighted by the description of a practicalembodiment of the filtering gate for the protection of a site, accordingto the present invention, this description being given by way of exampleon a purely illustrative and non-limiting basis, with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic isometric view of a filtering gate according tothe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the gate of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d are schematic plan views showing the gate ofFIG. 1 in some different phases of its movement during the normaltransit;

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing the gate of FIG. 1 in the phaseof manually piloted emergency; and

FIGS. 5a, 5b and 5c are schematic plan views showing the gate of FIG. 1in various phases of its movement during an intrinsic emergency.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

With reference to the accompanying drawings, and particularly to theFIGS. 1 and 2 thereof, it will be seen that the filtering gate of thepresent invention comprises in combination two boxes, respectively 10and 12, having a generically rectangular base, arranged side by side andjoined sideways to form a whole. Within each of the two boxes 10 and 12,a corridor is provided, respectively 14 or 16, for the passageindifferentently toward the inside or toward the outside of the siteclosed by the present gate.

Therefore, each corridor 14 or 16, as well as each box 10 or 12, has oneof its fronts faced toward the inside of the protected site and theother of its fronts faced toward the outside of the protected site. Thesingle body, including the two boxes 10 and 12 arranged side by side, iscomprised of a structure having an iron tubular frame and includes twopairs of upper stationary slideways 18, 20 and 22, 24, as well as twopairs of stationary ground slideways 26, 28 and 30, 32, for supportingthe sliding doors or leaves, one pair for each of its fronts. Each upperslideway 18, 20, 22 or 24 co-operates with the respective groundslideway 26, 28, 30 or 32 to support and guide one of four sliding doorsor leaves 34, 36, 38 or 40. Each leaf 34, 36, 38 or 40 is movable,independentently from the other leaves, along two exclusive stationaryslideways, between the position in which it closes the end of one of thetwo corridors 14, 16 and, respectively, the position in which it closesthe end of the other of the two corridors 14, 16.

The four leaves 34, 36, 38, 40 are carried out from aluminium profiledbars and carry breaking-proof or musket-proof glasses according to thenecessities.

The movement of the leaves is carried out, in a known way, at the uppersupport slideways 18, 20, 22, 24, formed from aluminium extruded bars,by usual continuous current motors through a likewise usual toothedrubber belt transmission (particulars not shown). Furthermore, coveringsare provided, feasible in painted iron, anodised aluminium or stainlesssteel, according to the needs.

With reference to the FIGS. 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d, the operation of thefiltering gate according to the present invention, during the normaltransit across it, will be now described.

With reference to the FIG. 3a, it is seen that the normal transitoperation begins when a person, schematised with a triangular arrow,engages one of the two corridors 14 or 16 for entering or, respectively,leaving the protected site. Obviously, there could be, at the same time,the entry of a first person through one of the corridors and the exit ofan other person through the other corridor, just in this doubleeffectiveness consisting one of the main advantages of the filteringgate according to the present invention.

When a sensor (not shown) reveals, as besides usual, the presence of aperson into one of the corridors, a cycle of normal transit begins,under the supervision of an electronic microprocessor controller (notshown), of usual type, which receives impulses from sensors, of usualtype, (not shown) and sends impulses to actuating motors of usual type(not shown).

As it is well seen from the FIG. 3b, the contemporaneous movement of thetwo leaves 34 and 40, which are the most distant from the centre of therespective box, happens at first and, immediately after, as shown in theFIG. 3c, also the contemporaneous movement of the two others leaves 36and 38, which are the nearest to the centre of the respective box,happens.

Therefore, there is not any time in which any of the two corridors 14 or16 is totally open. Immediately after the movement of the inner leaves36 and 38, the present filtering gate is immediately ready for the nexttransit. This time, the transit has a flow reversed with respect to thepreceding time, as better shown in FIG. 3d, as opposed to FIG. 3a.

Obviously, the present filtering gate could be used by combining it,according to techniques well known to the skilled of the art, with otherproducts, such as metal detectors, badge readers or cameras, and couldbe used for specific uses in the field of the access control, of theburglar-proof safety and the like.

According to the conditions of use, such as more or less great flows,alert from a metal detector, emergencies, the electronic controlleroptimises the motions of the four leaves 34, 36, 38 and 40.

In the case of piloted emergency, as better shown in FIG. 4, all thefour leaves 34, 36, 38 and 40 are moved toward a same side of the gate,by means of a suitable command sent to the electronic controller. Inthis way, one of the corridors, in the present case the corridor 16, iskept completely free, for example to allow the rapid evacuation from thesite.

In case of electric mains breakdown or device failure during thetransits, as better schematised in FIG. 5a, the four leaves 34, 36, 38and 40 are moved to the position shown in FIG. 5b, for example by theaction of the weight of some heavy masses acting by gravity on themechanisms moving the leaves themselves.

By moving the leaves to the position shown in FIG. 5b, the isolation ofthe site protected by the present filtering gate is assured.

In case of emergency, the four leaves 34, 36, 38 and 40 could be openedtoward the outside, as better shown in FIG. 5c, by manually acting onsuitable unlocking devices, operated, for example, by means of safetykeys.

Therefore, it can be easily noticed that the filtering gate of thepresent invention allows the emergency evacuation in any condition ofuse.

In a variation of the embodiment, the leaves 34, 36, 38 and 40 areguided by two upright stabiliser plates 42, located at the central postplaced between the two boxes 10 and 12. In this case, the groundslideways 26, 28, 30 and 32 are no longer necessary.

Although only one preferred embodiment of the filtering gate for theprotection of a site has been specifically illustrated and describedherein, it is to be understood that other minor variations may be madein the construction thereof without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A filtering gate for the protection of a site,comprising:two boxes, having a generally rectangular base, arranged sideby side and forming two corridors, placed side by side, which allowcommunication between an inside front of said boxes, for facing aninside of the site, and an external front of said boxes, for facing anexterior of the site; a first pair of leaves, located at said insidefront of said boxes arranged side by side, said leaves being movableparallel with respect to each other and transverse to a flow passing insaid corridors, each leaf being movable independent of the other leaf ofthe pair, between a first position in which it blocks passage throughone of said corridors and a second position in which it blocks passagethrough the other of said corridors; and a second pair of leaves,located at said external front of said boxes arranged side by side, saidleaves being movable parallel with respect to each other and transverseto the flow passing in said corridors, each leaf being movableindependent of the other leaf of the pair, between a first position inwhich it blocks the passage through one of said corridors and a secondposition in which it blocks the passage through the other of saidcorridors, wherein, in a normal operating mode, the movement of one leafof each pair is immediately followed by the movement of the other leafof the same pair, as soon as the first leaf of the pair has completedmoving between said positions, the movement of each leaf of one of thetwo pairs of leaves occurring simultaneously with the movement of acorresponding leaf of the other pair of leaves.
 2. A filtering gateaccording to claim 1, wherein each of said four leaves is supported andguided by a corresponding upper stationary slideway.
 3. A filtering gateaccording to claim 2, wherein each of said four leaves is further guidedby a corresponding ground slideway.
 4. A filtering gate according toclaim 2, wherein each of said four leaves is further guided by anupright stabiliser plate.
 5. A filtering gate according to claim 1,wherein, in a manually piloted emergency operating mode, all said fourleaves are movable to a single side of said gate, obstructing only oneof the corridors and leaving the other of the two corridors open.
 6. Afiltering gate according to claim 1, wherein, in an intrinsic emergencyoperating mode, said four leaves are movable to at least one of aposition whereby each of said corridors is obstructed by one of thefirst pair of leaves and one of the second pair of leaves and a positionwhereby each of the four leaves is rotated along one side thereof toopen both corridors.